This week on "Face the Nation," November 17, 2019: Pelosi, Jordan, Quigley
Impeachment goes public
In the second round of public testimony in the House impeachment inquiry, former ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch testified about a "smear campaign" led by President Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani which resulted in her ouster.
Citing pushback for her anti-corruption work in Ukraine, the career diplomat lamented how "foreign corrupt interest could manipulate our government."
"What continues to amaze me is that they found Americans willing to partner with them and, working together, they apparently succeeded in orchestrating the removal of a U.S. Ambassador," she said.
Yovanovitch also testified that Mr. Trump's comments about her during his July 25 phone call with Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky "sounded like a threat," while the president continued to attack the former ambassador in real-time on Twitter, saying "Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad."
Democrats and Republicans quickly condemned the tweet, and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said the attacks amounted to witness intimidation. Intel committee member Rep. Eric Swalwell said such claims would "be considered" as a potential article of impeachment.
Another possible article of impeachment — bribery
Following the first open hearings Tuesday with Ambassador William Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, and a top State Department official George Kent, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the testimonies revealed evidence of "bribery" committed by Trump.
In his testimony, Taylor revealed new information about an undisclosed phone call between Trump and ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland on July 26 - just one day after the president's now-infamous call with President Zelensky.
Taylor said one of his aides who was accompanying Sondland during a visit to Kiev overheard Trump ask the E.U. ambassador about the status of "the investigations" into the Bidens, and Sondland told the president the Ukrainians were "ready to move forward."
After the call, the aide asked Sondland what the president thought of Ukraine, to which the ambassador responded: "President Trump cares more about the investigations of Bidens, which Giuliani was pressing for."
The president has denied any knowledge of the call, saying Wednesday this is the "first time I've heard it. . . . I don't recall, not at all, not even a little bit."
Republicans accused Taylor of relying on "hearsay" in his account, but the aide who overheard the call, David Holmes, counselor for political affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Kiev, testified behind closed-doors following the hearing with Yovanovitch.
"Face the Nation" Guest Lineup:
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi)
- Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio (@Jim_Jordan), Intelligence Committee
- Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Illinois, (@RepMikeQuigley), Intelligence Committee
And, as always, we'll turn to our political panel for some perspective on the week:
- Ed O'Keefe (@edokeefe) CBS News Political Correspondent
- Rachael Bade (@rachaelmbade) of the Washington Post
- Ramesh Ponnuru (@RameshPonnuru) of the National Review
- Molly Ball (@mollyesque) of TIME Magazine
How to watch "Face the Nation"
Date: Sunday, November 17, 2019
TV: "Face the Nation" airs Sunday mornings on CBS. Click here for your local listings
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With the latest news and analysis from Washington, don't miss Margaret Brennan (@margbrennan) this Sunday on "Face the Nation" (@FaceTheNation).
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